Mission Log 015 - Holiday Season
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Shanghalla conflicts erupt globally. The New World Order had gained the alliance of several independent nations, arming them with the new mecha designs. Along with these allies, the NWO also has terrorist groups operating with UEG and EBSIS territories. While the NWO and her allies launch open attacks against UEG and EBSIS holdings, the terrorist groups begin their own guerrilla campaigns.
The 21st is grounded until they receive new tanks to replace the mecha lost in the nuke. Captain Mace, Sgt. "Banshee" O'Hara, and Privates Fox, Richards and Watanabe go to Tokyo to collect new mecha. Indira takes the opportunity to visit her parents, who are robotics and artificial intelligence scientists at the Robotech Research Facility. Because of the sudden excalation of conflict there is a shortage of mecha until production can be ramped up. As a result, the 21st are being assigned prototypes of the next version of the Veritech hovertank, the VHT-1A1, an early Christmas present for the unit.
Meanwhile, von Varenburg has been called to Perth where Supreme Commander Leonard himself presents the young pilot with the Silver Shield medal for his actions at Shanghalla (even though millions were killed, von Varenburg's shot at the missile allowed the UEG diplomatic team to escape). Back at Dundee Base, Andrews gets recruited by Major Alan Fredericks (and his attache Lt. Nova Satori) of the GMP into an operation to uncover traitors in the Southern Cross and United Earth Government.
Mission Log 016 - Firefight - Welcome to the 21st
Pvt. Jack "Brains" Burns runs some intelligence and finds that at each of the New World Order's major cover strikes over the last few months (Tokyo, Osaka, Ethiopia, Shanghalla, etc) there was one particular freighter in harbor at or around the same time. Tracing the freighter's ownership to a company once run by a now-defunct criminal cartel, Brains realizes that the NWO has taken over the cartel's interests and assets. When he tracks the freighter's current whereabouts to Montevideo, in the Merchant Republic, he informs the Captain.
Armed with Brains' intel, the Captain arranges for the 21st to run a rapid respose strike against the freighter, hoping to capture one of the NWO's major covert operations assets. There is some question as to jurisdiction, as the Merchant Republic is techically neutral in the current conflict, but command decides to authorize the strike anyway.
In a surgical strike, the 21st manages to seize the freighter. As suspected the vessel is used for covert operations, as its cargo area has been modified to serve as a launch bay for the NWO's Veritech fighters. To everyone's surprise, the team also finds the missing Gryphon Squad aboard, apparently held prisoner by the NWO since their disappearnce nearly two months earlier. Unsure if Gryphon has been brainwashed by the NWO, the elite squad is sent to Tokyo for an extensive debrief and examination.
Mission Log 017 - World at War
The Fourth World War is in full swing, with conflicts erupting all over the globe. Indonesia has launched a full invasion of New Guinea, threatening the Southern Cross base at Port Moresby. The 21st is part of the first counteroffensive which ends in a limited success.
After their tour of duty in New Guinea, the 21st returns to Dundee Base where they find themselves escorting convoys of refugees fleeing the chaos that has erupted in Darwin. A suicide bomber attempts to damage the base by destroying the levees protecting Dundee from the flood waters of the Victoria River. The 21st stops the attack but Pvt. Richards is badly injured.
After Richards' recovery, the 21st returns to New Guinea where they take part in the next major counteroffensive. This one is more successul, driving the Indonesia NWO forces back to the western tip of the island.
With New Guinea in less danger, the next major threat to the UEG holdings in Oceania is the terrorist insurgency wreaking havoc in Darwin. The Tactical Corps engages in a major push into the ths city which is driven back by the surprisingly effective insurgency. A daring plan is devised where the Southern Cross will use the storm from an approaching typhoon as cover to get armored forces into the city undetected. The Blackjacks are part of this operation, which succeeds in giving the Southern Cross a tactical advantage. Thanks to this surprise attack the insurgency in Darwin is pacified, for the moment at least.
A few weeks later the 21st is part of another surprise offensive, this time withouth there mecha, accompanying Tactical Corps special forces on a mission to take control of the last unsecured location in the South Pacific theater: the Philipines. The Blackjacks are airdropped alongside special forces troops into Manila where they seize key buildings and capture or eliminate the leaders of the NWO-backed insurgency. Pvt. von Varenburg is shocked to discover that several of the NWO operatives are people he recognizes from his time in the anti-Zentraedi gangs in South America as a teenager. The squad is also shocked by Pvt. Andrews' brutality when they witness him execute a prisoner during an interrogation.
In the wake of the revelation of von Varenburg's connection to the terrorists he is transferred to Monument City by the GMP for an unspecified assignment.
Mission Log 018 - Peace Conference
With war raging across the planet between multiple factions, the UEG and the EBSIS decide to set aside their differences in order to combat their common foe. A peace conference between the two powers is set for Taipei, where the Manchurian government has been forced to retreat after NWO-backed China Quadrant invaded their mainland territory.
The 21st ATAC is part of the security for the conference and, as with the Shanghalla conference months earlier, the NWO stages an attack to disrupt the proceedings. The battle is fierce and both sides take losses, including the apparent destruction of the conference site with many of the delegates still present. In the end the NWO forces are driven back, and their staging base, a modified ballistic missile submarine, is sunk by the SLV Ulysses, one of the UEG's remaining submersible assets.
Not all the NWO forces were defeated. Particularly troubling was one NWO mecha pilot, an ace who detroyed several Southern Cross and EBSIS mechs. Forced to retreat when his mecha was damaged, review of gun camera footage of the battle reveals that the NWO mecha ace is former EBSIS Major Krueger who had been thought killed when his mech was destroyed during the battle of Shanghalla. Krueger's presence, and his apparent traitorous turn add a new mystery to the New World Order.
After the battle is over it is revealed that the Taipei conference was a ruse to reveal intelligence leaks and to flush out the NWO submarine base. The real conference had taken place on Sakhalin Island, north of Japan. The result: an alliance between the UEG and the EBSIS with the stated goal of the destruction of the New World Order.
Mission Log 019 - Tour of Duty
The first major joint operation of the new UEG-EBSIS alliance is a two front assault on the NWO-backed China Quadrant. While EBSIS forces push south into Chinese-occupied Manchurian Quadrant, UEG forces operating from India Quadrant push into China Quadrant. The 21st ATAC are part of a force tasked to take a mountain pass. The task is successful, though Captain Mace is injured ejecting from his disabled mecha. Having taken the pass, the UEG forces (including the 21st) spend several days fending off a Chinese counterattack.
As part of the next push in China Quadrant the Blackjacks, led by second-in-command Lt. Robert "Deadman" Graves, are sent into the Jungles of China Quadrant. They locate the hidden tranfer road they had previously discovered during their last time here, after the Himalaya mission that uncovered the NWO mecha factory. When the 21st discovers evidence that the road is still being used by the giant NWO land carrier they lay an ambush. When the massive mecha and aircraft carrier next appears, the hovertanks of the 21st disable is by destroying the giant treads. Before a counterattack can be laid on the Blackjacks retreat, knowing they have severely hampered the China Quadrant's ability to move armored resources to the battlefield.
Mission Log 020 - Heart of Darkness
After a brief respite from the fighting, and with Captain Mace back on duty, the 21st are sent into Indochina to join UEG forces there that are assigned to cut off the China Quadrant from their NWO allies to the south in Indonesia.
To cover more territory, the squadron is split into two teams, one led by Captain Mace and one led by Deadman. Mace's team consisting of Banshee (Sgt. Shanna O'Hara), Shark (Cpl. Mal Willoughby), Brains (Pvt. Jack Burns), Punchout (Pvt. Geoff Richards), and OL (Pvt. Fox Maje), are attacked by a small mecha force. They are victorious but Banshee is injured so the team attempts to rendezvous with the rest of the squadron. Unfortunately something is interfering with their mecha's instruments and the team becomes disoriented. Stumbling blindly through the jungle the group is surprised to discover an inhabited valley, one that was not on any maps.
The inhabitants of the valley appear to be a mix of humans and micronized and full-size Zentraedi, all co-existing peacefully in a farming village near an ancient temple. The people of the village take in the lost members of the 21st and help care for the injured and feverish Banshee. Meanwhile the others learn more about the hidden valley. The locals call the valley Sanctuary and Brains learns that the reason the valley is hidden is because of a crashed Zentraedi ship buried beneath it. The ship's Reflex reactor is damaged and is giving off a field that seems to disrupt electromagnetic wavelengths, which explains why their hovertank's sensors had failed.
The team is introduced to one of the valley's leaders, a micronized female Zentraedi and former Quadrano pilot named Tessa. Tessa lives in the valley with her half-human son Joshua, having come found the valley years earlier while trying to escape those who pursued her. Tessa reveals that she had once been part of a band of high-tech mercenaries and that the father of her son was the leader of these men. She discovered she was pregnant after her lover had been killed by the RDF so she went into hiding to protect her child. Learning about the NWO, Tessa says that some of the men who lead the terrorist organization were once members of the mercenary group she was in and that she is willing to give the team information in exchange for some help.
The Captain agrees and offers Brains to assist Tessa with what she needs. Meanwhile, Punchout has become friends with Joshua and bonds with the youngster. Tessa brings Brains to a cavern where the inhabitants of the valley have hidden some old Zentraedi mecha, which they have in case they have to defend the valley. One of the mecha is a Quadrano Power Armor, but being micronized Tessa is unable to fly it. She has, however, managed to find an experimental mecha chassis, one designed to act as a full-sized body to allow micronized pilots to pilot Zentraedi power armor mecha. Brains helps Tessa get the giant exo-suit functional so she can use it to don the Quadrano armor. Thankful Tessa lives up to her end of the bargain and gives the Captain the information she has on what assets the mercenary group had, assets she believes the NWO are still taking advantage of.
After a week in Sanctuary the team is ready to leave, Banshee having recovered enough to travel again. As a parting gift, the team promises not to reveal the existence of the valley to anyone.
Mission Log 021 - Final Frontier
Thanks in part to the intelligence obtained from Tessa, the source suitably disguided, the UEG believes the NWO is operating a base somewhere in orbit. Members of the 21st volunteer to take part in the space mission and are given basic zero-G training while their tanks are modified for orbital use.
Alongside a TASC squad piloting VF-8 Logan fighters the 21st patrols the debris ring looking for signs of the NWO base. They discover what initially appears to be a derelict Zentraedi Salan class scout ship, only to realize the only reason it looks derelict is because it is equipped with a stealth system that is concealing its E-M emissions. The 21st manages to sneak aboard the veseel and find that has been converted into a full NWO mecha factory. Mecha are manufactured from wrecks recovered from the debris ring and are shipped down to the NWO's allies on Earth via converted Zentraedi landing craft.
Brains is able to use his portable computer to hack into the ship's control system, which uses a unique human-Zentraedi computer software interface system designed by the brilliant and twisted Dr. Erlich. Once he is in the system Brains is able to sabotage key areas of the ship.
The team is soon discovered and are forced to flee the ship with NWO forces in pursuit. It is not long before they are joined by UEG space forces though and the tables are turned. TASC and Cosmic Unit ships make short work of the NWO mecha and of the now revealed space factory. Back on Earth intelligence begins reviewing all the data Brains managed to copy from the NWO ship's computers - including the location of the central NWO base!
Mission Log 022 - The End is Near
The tide of war has turned against the NWO's allies on most fronts. Now the UEG and EBSIS race to take out the center of the NWO's power base in Africa. While EBSIS forces engage the NWO in the northeast, UEG forces, including the 21st launch an assault on the city of Luanda. The battle is fierce and Pvt. Richard "Dragon" Cook is killed, but the Southern Cross forces drive back the NWO.
The 21st pushes on as UEG forces hope to reclaim the enemy-occupied Southern Cross base at Fort Hope. Another battle with NWO mecha occurs, with the enemy being led by the traitor Major Krueger. Krueger's mech is shot down but he escapes and shockingly tries to take on the 21st's tanks by himself. When Krueger is injured everyone is shocked to see that he has been turned into a cyborg, and no one seems more shocked that Krueger himself. The Major is captured and it is discovered that in addition to being part robot now, he seems to have been brainwashed, which would explain his seeming betrayal of the EBSIS.
Captain Mace, hoping to help his former comrade in arms, gets Pvt. Andrews and OL to work on breaking Krueger's mental conditioning. The shock of seeing his cyborg parts had alread exposed cracks in the brainwashing and the pair of them are able to crack it completely, returning Krueger back to his old self. Grateful, Krueger is able to give the squadron the final piece of information they need to locate the NWO leadership's main base of operations in the jungles of central Africa.
Mission Log 023 - Final Strike
Having broken his NWO conditioning, Major Krueger has temporarily joined the 21st (with a GMP minder in tow). The squadron moves to Fort Victoria in the Congo Disputed Zone and from there they will make the final assault on the NWO's central base. To keep the element of surprise the attack will be made without mecha so the squadron sets off in the company of a Jungle Squad team to the site if the NWO base. En route the Jungle Squad team turns on the 21st, revealing that the NWO had infiltrated Fort Victoria some time ago. The tables are swiftly turned when it is revealed that, suspecting treachery, Captain Mace had Lt. Tracy Myers' Tactical Corps squadron secretly following them. Tracy's marines make short work of the traitorous Jungle Squad soldiers and they and the 21st continue on to the objective.
The NWO base is hidden underground, built in the never finished superstructure that was to have onced housed one of the UEG's Grand Cannon planetary defense Reflex weapons. The base is divided into three sections: mecha hangar, mecha factory, and central control. The mecha hangar doors are sabotaged to prevent any new mecha from entering the fight and the 21st moves in to take care of the central control area. There is a heavy guard presence but they are no match for Southern Cross armor and weaponry. Eventually the main control room is taken and the team moves on deeper into the complex. In a heavily secured area they find Dr. Erlich's lab and the mad scientist himself. The members of the 21st are horrified to see some of the inhumane experiments the doctor was performing on prisoners and Major Krueger, also angered over what had been done to him, prepares to murder Erlich on the spot until he is persuaded not to by some members of the team. Instead Erlich is taken prisoner and, along with the NWO's main political leader Malachi Kessler (also captured in the base) will stand trial.
With the last NWO mecha factory captured and the NWO leadership dead or in custody the central controlling force behind the war has been shut down. What had been a co-ordinated global offensive conducted by allied forces was now a series of unconnected minor conflicts between unrelated factions. Without the central leadership World War IV was effectively over, all that was left to do now was clean up the mess and divide the spoils.
Next: Aftermath